Design for Advert I

Design for Advertising I
Course No.: Undergraduate 80978-106-01
LVC Hall (Fine Arts Bldg), Room 2019 (Undergraduate Design Lab)

Instructor: Dr. Tony McEachern
E-mail: ammceachern@howard.edu  |  Class Web Site: http://www.cre8720.c0m
Alternative: tony@tonymceachern.com  URL: http://www.tonymceachern.com/

Day: Tuesdays and Thursdays Time: 5:10 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.


Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the ethics and code of conduct for the professional practices of the creative field in advertising. This course addresses the aesthetics and techniques of advertising design, branding and visual identity, layout and composition, advanced problems in visual communications, corporate communications, and display advertising. Prerequisite: Lettering and Typeform.

Course topics will address, but are not limited to, history of advertising, strategic thinking, art direction, visual identity, and career development. Course work will consist of lectures, studio/lab work, and semester projects.  Students will (time permitting) also experience a trip to the field and/or at least one Creative Professional guest speaker. Students will create high impact visual identity systems and advertising design projects to be used as portfolio pieces.

Course Objectives:

  • To gain an understanding of the purpose of advertising design.
  • To familiarize students with industry standards, as well as, industry trends.
  • To understand branding/visual identity and how it supports advertising.
  • To understand the essentials of layout, design, and art direction.
  • To establish familiarity with illustration techniques for advertisement layouts.
  • To learn how to effectively communicate visually.
  • To become familiar with the major advertising devices, media applications, and channels.

Course Requirements:

1.     Attendance: For this course, attendance is a requirement. Every effort should be made to attend class on a regular basis.  The class sessions are divided into both lecture and studio/lab situations.  These valuable discussions, workshops, and studio times are difficult to make up, therefore, three or more absences during the semester will be considered excessive.

2.     Timeliness of Projects: The course projects are modeled after professional practices, thus meeting the project deadlines will be essential.  Late work will not be accepted without a legitimate reason.

3.     Class Critiques: Projects will be critiqued on specified days and as a class.  Students will be required to attend and present work at class critiques. Professional dress is requested for guest speaker presentation and for trips to the field.

4.     Required Text / Ready Assignments:

Dabner, David. (2005) Graphic Design School: A Foundation Course in the Principles and Practices of Graphic Design. 3rd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Wheeler, Alina. (2003) Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands.  New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Students will also be assigned, and required to read, specific articles and sections of the class manual as designated by the instructor. The readings will be assigned prior the presentation of a related lecture. The class will discuss the reading assignments during our lectures, so it will be imperative that the readings be completed.

Supplies:

  • Folder w/ Pockets (class handouts.)
  • Sketch Pencils
  • Color Pencils or Markers (your choice)
  • Sketch / Layout Bond Pad, or Marker Paper
  • Tracing Paper
  • Digital Media Storage (Flash Drive, Jump Drives, etc.)

IMPORTANT: The Nature of Digital Production:

Production relies heavily on computers; production is a collaborative process, requiring different people to work together; production is a process requiring a number of steps – it is not something that can be done at the last minute.

 

  • You will have access to a limited amount of equipment, which you will be sharing with other students. It may not be available “at the last minute.”  Arranging for production equipment is a “normal” production problem – your responsibility is to work and plan ahead. Take advantage of all of the University’s resources and feel free to use your own resources when available.  This is an advanced course so much of your work will be done outside of class.
  • Computers will crash at the worst time, data will be lost and you may find that a computer is not available when you are. These are not considered emergencies but part of the normal process of production.